Nordstrom Top Digital Department Store

Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) topped a list of 40 international department store organizations for its use of metrics from its web site, digital marketing, mobile and social media.

Luxury Lab (New York), a digitally oriented think tank also known as L2, conducted the study, called the “Digital IQ Index.”

By scoring above 150 on the index, Nordstrom earned a “Genius” designation. Others above 150 were Macy’s Inc. (Cincinnati), Saks Inc. (New York) and Marks & Spencer Plc (London).

Rounding out the top 10 were: Neiman Marcus (Dallas); Bloomingdale’s (New York, part of Macy’s Inc.); House of Fraser (London); Bergdorf Goodman (New York, part of The Neiman Marcus Group); John Lewis (London); and the online retailer Net-a-Porter (New York).

Maureen Mullen, L2 director of research and advisory, told Women’s Wear Daily that department stores are “a format under attack and the organizations pulling themselves out are the ones that have realized they have to win online, and winning online doesn’t just mean making robust e-commerce investments, but making investments online that drive traffic to the brick-and-mortar business.

“If you look at the guys at the top of the list, they are making huge capital commitments, upgrading operations and making inventory more flexible — and that is because they have to compete with the likes of Amazon and live up to the expectation of two-day fulfillment and almost boundless inventory.”